§ 138. Major Bramallasked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware of the bad travelling conditions prevailing on the Dartford loop line; and whether he can hold out any prospect of improvement of this service.
§ Mr. BarnesI am informed that during peak periods the train service on the Dartford loop is up to prewar level and cannot 129W be increased owing to lack of track capacity. Overcrowding is mainly due to the concentration of the peak loads into shorter periods of time. Immediate relief can only be effected by the staggering of working hours and the greater use by the public of the more lightly loaded trains to Blackfriars and Holborn. The gradual replacement of existing rolling stock with the new six-aside vehicles will provide further relief.